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Topic: Numina discussion thread (Read 15966 times)

This is the rebirth, of sorts, for the Numina discussion thread. It is bittersweet for me since to be honest not only did I enjoy reading over the original thread by many of my friends & fans but more importantly the posts by my dear friend Andy K are all but lost. Be that as it may, we must move on, I suppose... and I know Andy K wouldn't want me to get all mushy over him. And with that, the first post for the Numina Discussion Thread consists of a brand new review of Symbiotic Spaces by Phil Derby:

A collection of rare and unreleased tracks, Symbiotic Spaces is a first-rate collection of floating ambience by Jesse Sola aka Numina. Though compilations can sometimes be uneven, this 2-CD set has remarkable flow, moving deftly from pure drifting like "Waves of Reflection" to the tribal timbres of "Broken Silence" to the swirling synths of "Death of a Sun." There is enough variety to keep things interesting, but Numina plays to his strengths by sticking to the smooth ambient style that fans have come to expect. Titles aptly describe the music; for example, you might correctly guess that "Space Lilt" is light and bright, while "December Sky" imparts a somewhat darker, colder tone, although it is still quite silken. Three of my favorites are back-to-back-to-back at the end of disc one. "Dronecoil" is a sparse piece with a shimmering metallic character that builds just so. This is followed by "Cells", a deep space journey filled with cool electronics, which surprises by segueing into primitive tribal ambience. Disc one closes with "Anemone [Version Three]," whose dark silky sounds remind me of early Cocteau Twins, softened around the edges a bit. Disc two opens equally strong with "Moonrise," a dark haunter with a touch of Goth. "In the Shadow of Machines" is moody ambient electronics much like Pete Namlook sounded in the early FAX days. And so it goes from strength to strength, some lighter some darker, some abstract some more melodic, all good.

when will the soundtrack be available? is the movie any good? philips' soundtrack is excellent - the movies sucks twice!

Jim - the music I produced for this indie film was created almost 5 years ago (if not more). The music is available on all of my releases... to be honest I don't remember what tracks I sent the filmmaker. I think I also created some sound effects for the film, but don't recall for sure.

> My dad would have the miniMOOG set up in the living room where he'd practice with it. He let me wear these big bulky headphones that kept slipping off my 7-year old head and I just >remember making lots of noise with it. My dad passed away in 1988 and I now own that miniMOOG, and a couple other of his synthesizers.

I was very touched by this statement in an Ambient Visions interview that I read about you. Maybe because my little boy Luka does that with my synths, and it's wonderful to think that maybe one day he'll sit down and write some music.

It sounds like you had a great upbringing in synths and are very lucky to have had this great influence. I'd say your dad would be very proud of you.

The interview (it's an old one, but it's good) is here if anyone wants to read it:

Hi DeepSpace - yes, it was a good time growing up in a musical environment. My dad played keys for a living (not making much of a living at it though). His playing was amazing. He was on par with Billy Joel - and looked like him too. My Dad played a lot of jazz, blues, rock, and country via the keys. The last time I saw him on stage in 1987 or so he had, if I recall correctly, a Yamaha electric grand piano, an organ with a leslie, a Juno-106 and SH-101. I helped him haul the gear and it was heavy! At the time, though, I was quite young and really didn't know what he had other than the synthesizers since I was always intrigued by synths. I still own his 106 and 101, along with the Moog. I'm not sure what ever became of the rest of his stuff... likely sold by his wife.

Speaking of the miniMoog, I am currently having it restored. In fact, it's done. I'm eagerly waiting for its return. It really needed some cleaning and updates so I am anticipating a clean sounding moog soon... maybe I'll have to put those old Star Trek pajamas on while I play it... only I've MUCH outgrown them. HAHA. It has seen better days. My Dad gigged heavily with the Moog and it had sat in attics and in my garage for much of its later life. The kyes have cigarette burns (my dad smoked, I hate cigarettes) and knicks and scratches on the wood, but hey, it gives it character.

Hi Deepspace... Yeah, I like my Andromeda. As for the Prophet (assuming you mean the newer DSI Prophet), to be honest I didn't care for the sound all that much and the synth felt sort of light and wimpy. That's not to day great things can be gotten out of it, but I just wasn't as interested in it as I had hoped.

Sound Symbols samples are sounding quite good to me. I like this concept; have lately been thinking a lot (and writing some) about the relation between visual symbols and sounds. Think I will be picking up this album in near future. I like the feel of your music, it has an essence to it that is narrative, makes me imagine fantastical journeys, lucid dreams...

Numina - Sound SymbolsCD, NuminaMusic, 2008The first shapes of this album were put down almost three years ago as the "Almost Live" project for the Ambient Ping download project.Over the years, Jessa Sola (aka Numina) expanded the outcome with the intention of releasing it as a full-length album. As life got in the way, the whole idea got sidetracked until November 2008, when Jesse had some time to not only re-mix and re-master the original but also add brand new material throughout. "Sound Symbols" contains five freeform textural ambient soundscapes with an overall immersive impact. Together, they create an imaginative tapestry of dreamy and atmospheric sound pads that continuously drift along, especiallyin the first two tracks. Drone textures take over on the third, more abstract oriented "Hieroglyph", which slowly evolves into a kind of night music in which spooky elements pop up occasionally. Things shift to uplifting soundings at the start of the beautifully expansive sounding "The Secret Figure", which in the second half winds down in a more darkening, slow morphing, breathing space. The 18-minute "Angelic Relic" is the most "active" outing on the cd, therefore also the one less attractive and cohesive in my opinion. This hasto do with the more pronounced, rather annoying and murky synth leads during most of the piece, which disturb the contemplative character, although some haunting ethereal solo voices show up in the second part of the piece. "Sound Symbols" makes up over an hour of late night ambient music with surreal edges, only suitable for experienced ears and deep listening.Bert Strolenbergwww.sonicimmersion.org

meh, it's just his opinion. the "annoyance" he's referring to isn't actually a "synth lead" rsther an arpeggiated bit that loops for a portion of the song and it didn't, apparently, work for this reviewer, but the rest of the review, I felt, was complimentary. Listen to the audio samples and judge for yourself.

Jesse Sola returns as Numina on Sound Symbols, five lengthy pieces of floating ambient music. Numina excels at formless waves of sound thatare neither light nor dark, finding a comfortable niche that allows the listener to decide the mood. "Buried Icon", for example, has both shimmering highs and resonant lows. Melody is hinted at but discrete notes rarely fully form. Rhythm is noticeably absent as the quiet music drifts easily by. Although each track is distinct, they merge seamlessly together. Even when there are multiple themes or sound employed, as on "Symbolic Script", each part blends together into the unified whole. Sparse bells nicely fill in the open expanses in "Heiroglyph". Shifts are subtle and slow, making this perfect music in which to fully immerse yourself. Sometimes there are bubbly, gurgling undercurrents that are very organic in nature, whereas other times the electronic chirps and twitters have a clearly synthesized sound. Regardless, the mood is calm, reflective and relaxed throughout. Song titles imply an ambient music version of a Dan Brown novel, containing icons, symbols, relics, secrets, and angels. Orsimply imagine your own story as you enjoy listening to Sound Symbols.